The Connecticut Judicial Branch is pleased to announce that
the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA)
has granted accredited status to the Branch’s Judicial Marshal Academy. The
accreditation was awarded under the Commission’s Public Safety Training
Academy Accreditation (PSTAA) program, after a sub-committee hearing and
vote by the full twenty-one member Commission on July 30, 2005 in Boston,
Massachusetts.

The Judicial Marshal Academy is one of five such accredited
academies in the United States, and currently the only CALEA accredited
public safety training academy in Connecticut. “The multi-year effort to
attain accreditation from CALEA for the Judicial Marshal Academy represents
the Connecticut Judicial Branch's commitment to implement the highest
standards for personnel training,” said Judge Joseph H. Pellegrino, Chief
Court Administrator.

Independent assessors appointed by CALEA conducted an
on-site review of the Judicial Marshal Academy this past April. The
assessors – David R. Hobson of the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice
Training and Robin D. Geis, the former Chief of the Dublin, Ohio, Division
of Police - examined all aspects of the academy’s policies, procedures,
management, operations, and support services.

“The CALEA assessors presented a favorable report to the
Commission after their April assessment and recommended that the Academy be
accredited at the Commission’s July meeting,” said Joseph D. D’Alesio,
Executive Director of Superior Court Operations, who oversees the operation
of the academy.

The academy had to comply with 182 standards in order to
gain the initial accreditation, which lasts three years.

The Judicial Marshal Academy was created after the
abolishment of the former county sheriff system in 2000 and the subsequent
creation of Judicial Marshals by the Legislature. Judicial Marshals, who are
employees of the Connecticut Judicial Branch, have peace officer status when
performing their duties, which include courthouse security and prisoner
transportation for all state courts in Connecticut. There are approximately
800 Judicial Marshals.